67: A terrible curse

He looked at the group of 'pathfinders' from Hundred Flowers Valley who were still smugly pleased with their 'cleverness'.

Then he looked at the 'believers' from Purple Cloud Holy Land behind him, who already had unwavering faith in him.

A cold arc, signifying everything was under control, slowly formed at the corner of Lin Chen's mouth.

He knew.

It was time to make a move.

An astonishing chess game, enough to completely bury all his enemies!

He slowly raised his hand.

A simple gesture instantly brought the entire advancing team to a halt.

"Saint? What's wrong?"

Luo Bingli was the first to approach him; her majestic phoenix eyes, which should have belonged to a Nascent Soul True Monarch, were now filled with the reverence and inquiry of a small maidservant.

But Lin Chen did not answer her.

He merely turned around and slowly swept his profound eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through everything, over every Purple Cloud Holy Land disciple present, who felt somewhat uneasy and confused by his sudden stop.

Then, he issued a command that astounded everyone.

"From now on,"

His voice was calm yet filled with an undeniable authority.

"—we divide the troops."

Divide! The troops?!

As soon as these words were uttered, the entire audience was shocked!

The hundreds of female disciples, whose nerves were already taut from being in the 'Death Gate' dead end, instantly erupted into an uproar!

"Wh-what?! Divide the troops?!"

"Saint! You can't! In this dreadful place, we don't even have enough time to huddle together for warmth! If we scatter, wouldn't that give the enemy a chance to defeat us one by one?!"

"That's right! Saint! Please reconsider! The people from Myriad Sword Pavilion and Crimson Sun Divine Palace are still lurking in the dark, coveting us!"

Their faces were filled with incomprehension, panic, and a hint of unconcealed worry.

Although they already had an almost fanatical trust in Lin Chen.

The decision to 'divide the troops' seemed far too insane, far too overconfident, in their eyes!

Even Lin Ziyan, who always obeyed Lin Chen, and Xiao Qingxue, who was already convinced, also showed grave expressions on their faces.

Looking at this group of 'Queen candidates' who had once again fallen into a 'crisis of trust'.

Lin Chen, however, smiled.

He slowly walked to the center of the team, in front of everyone.

He did not forcefully suppress their doubts using his identity as the 'Saint'.

Instead, he slowly analyzed the 'crisis' before them in a 'patient' and 'wise', almost 'teacher-like' tone.

"Do you really think,"

He pointed to the seemingly 'safe' path ahead, his voice deepening.

"we are 'advancing'?"

"No."

"We are being led by the nose towards a death trap that has long been prepared for us."

"Do you really think,"

He then pointed to the other forces around them who were eyeing him menacingly.

"our enemies are only Myriad Sword Pavilion and Crimson Sun Divine Palace?"

"No."

"In this 'dark forest' game, everyone who is still standing..."

"—is our enemy!"

His words were like the coldest current, instantly extinguishing the last shred of hope in everyone's hearts!

"Instead of passively waiting for the 'hunters' to close their net."

"Why don't we break this... 'stalemate' ourselves!"

"We will be the... 'chess players'!"

Saying that, he looked at the two strongest people in the team.

"Luo Bingli, Xiao Qingxue!"

"Your disciple is here!"

The two Proud Daughters of Heaven, who had already been completely won over by Lin Chen's 'wisdom', immediately stepped forward!

"Next," Lin Chen began his 'feint' arrangement!

"The two of you will lead the remaining main force and..."

His gaze casually swept over the 'prisoners' from Hundred Flowers Valley who were also eavesdropping ahead.

"...and our 'loyal' 'pathfinders'."

"Continue to slowly advance along this 'safe path' towards the so-called 'ancient human city ruins'."

He deliberately emphasized the word 'slowly' with a subtle, almost imperceptible pronunciation.

"Remember," his eyes became profound, "your mission is not 'treasure hunting'."

"It is 'training troops' and 'acting'!"

"Along the way, no matter what Dragon Fiend Beasts you encounter, do not immediately kill them."

"You must fight them! The more 'tragic' the fight, the better! The more 'difficult' it is, the better!"

"You must make everyone who might be secretly observing us believe..."

"—that our Purple Cloud Holy Land is weak and already struggling!"

This was his true purpose!

—Show weakness! Numb them!

—Transform himself from 'prey' into an unnoticed... 'passerby'!

And after arranging all of this.

He began his true plan of 'feigning one thing while doing another'!

"As for me,"

He looked at their worried gazes, a smile full of 'confidence' and 'mystery' on his face.

"I need to act alone."

"To find the true... 'way to break the deadlock' for you."

After saying that, he actually, in front of everyone's eyes,

named two accompanying individuals who utterly astonished everyone.

"Lin Xiaoya."

"And... Bai Ruoxue."

"You two, come with me."

Boom—!!!

This decision!

It was even more incomprehensible to everyone than the previous 'division of troops'!

Although Lin Xiaoya was the Saint's 'bedmate', her cultivation was only at the Foundation Establishment Stage! And she was pregnant!

As for Bai Ruoxue, she had long since had all her arrogance and Dao Heart shattered, reduced to a 'maidservant'... a prisoner! The restrictions Lin Chen had placed on her still remained, leaving her with only a tenth of her former strength!

To bring these two, who everyone considered the 'weakest' and 'most useless' 'burdens'?!

To venture alone into this death zone where even a Nascent Soul might fall?!

Was Saint too confident?

Or... too arrogant?!

All the female disciples of Purple Cloud Holy Land were filled with endless worry.

They opened their mouths, wanting to dissuade him.

But when they met Lin Chen's calm yet profound eyes, which seemed to already have everything under control.

They couldn't utter a single word.

Ultimately, they could only choose to... —believe.

And Lin Chen acted as if he had done something insignificant.

He nodded faintly at Lin Xiaoya, who was somewhat overwhelmed by this 'huge surprise', and Bai Ruoxue, whose eyes were filled with confusion and complexity.

"Let's go."

Then he led this 'most unlikely' duo, in everyone's eyes.

Silently... disappeared into the bloody mist filled with unknowns and dangers.

After leaving the main group.

Lin Chen took Lin Xiaoya and Bai Ruoxue, speeding off in the opposite direction from Luo Bingli and the others.

It was an area marked 'unknown' on the map, filled with a dense, bloody mist.

To anyone, it was an even more perilous dead end than the 'Death Gate'.

"Young... Young Master... are we really going in?"

Lin Xiaoya looked at the bloody mist ahead, churning like the mouth of a giant beast, her pretty face etched with instinctive fear.

Even the usually numb Bai Ruoxue's empty beautiful eyes flickered with a hint of 'dread'.

"Don't worry."

Lin Chen merely smiled faintly.

Immediately, his profound eyes, which had already activated the Moonlight Divine Pupils, burst forth with a dazzling divine light!

"Open!"

In his vision, capable of 'seeing through illusions and reaching the source'!

The seemingly 'chaotic' and 'dangerous' bloody mist before them instantly shed all its disguise!

Revealing its innermost, crystal-clear array formation Veins, composed of 'Innate Bagua'!

He saw the 'spatial traps' constantly flowing, hidden within the mist.

He saw the 'fiend energy sources' lurking beneath the ground, emitting 'death aura'.

He even saw, within the perilous 'dead end' filled with endless killing intent, the only path to 'new life'... the Life Gate!

"Follow me."

"Don't take a single wrong step."

With that, he took the hands of the two women and stepped into the deadly mist, a place where any Nascent Soul cultivator could get lost.

Three steps to the left, seven steps to the right, half a foot forward, one inch back... his steps seemed strange and chaotic.

Yet, each step landed perfectly on a fleeting "array node"!

Perfectly avoiding all restrictions and dangers!

In just the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn!

They had passed through the terrifying mist that could trap and kill even Golden Core cultivators!

And the moment they emerged from the mist.

Lin Xiaoya and Bai Ruoxue were completely stunned.

They even thought they were hallucinating!

Before their eyes.

Where was the "scorched earth" and "bloody wasteland" from before?

Instead, there was a... paradise of birdsong and fragrant flowers, full of vitality!

A clear stream gurgled softly.

By the stream grew various thousand-year-old spirit herbs that had long been extinct in the outside world!

The air was no longer filled with the nauseating stench of blood and decay.

But a pure, righteous energy that could advance one's cultivation with just a single breath!

"This is..." Lin Xiaoya murmured.

Lin Chen's gaze, however, had already been completely drawn to the ancient and magnificent... ruins of a giant city at the center of this paradise!

Unlike the "ominous" ghost city in Hua Jieyu's intelligence report.

Although this ancient city was also dilapidated, its walls covered with traces of blades and swords.

It still exuded a spirit of unwavering courage and defiance, the backbone of humanity!

However, just as Lin Chen was about to lead the two women into this ancient city.

An invisible barrier, yet filled with supreme majesty, stopped them.

"Hmm?"

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow slightly.

He could feel that this barrier was not a killing array.

But a kind of... screening.

"Only those of pure Yang bloodline of our Human Race may enter!"

"Those who are Yin-dominant and Yang-deficient, trespassers..."

"—Die!"

An ancient divine thought, filled with endless sorrow and resolve, boomed in the minds of the three!

Lin Xiaoya and Bai Ruoxue instantly turned pale!

Under this divine thought filled with "repulsion," they retreated repeatedly!

As if staying for another second would result in them being completely purified by this righteous energy!

So... that's how it is!

Lin Chen understood instantly!

"Only men can see it!"

No!

More precisely, only men with a "pure Yang bloodline" can enter!

This was the true reason why this ancient city had remained undiscovered by the cultivators of this "matriarchal world" for tens of thousands of years!

This was the last legacy left by the male ancestors of the ancient era to their descendants!

Lin Chen bowed deeply to the ancient divine thought filled with sorrow and resolve.

Then, under the worried gazes of Lin Xiaoya and Bai Ruoxue.

He stepped into the light gate that opened only for him!

An indescribable, vast divine thought, filled with sorrow and iron-bloodedness, instantly soared from the murals!

Pulling his entire soul into an ancient battlefield, long submerged by time!

..."Boom—rumble—rumble—!!!"

Deafening explosions instantly filled his entire world!

Scorching hot air, mixed with nauseating blood and a burnt smell, rushed towards him!

Lin Chen found himself standing on a dilapidated, ten-thousand-zhang-tall majestic pass!

Beneath his feet were scalding city bricks, soaked in blood until their original color was unrecognizable!

Beside him were men, clad in broken armor, covered in blood, yet still clutching their weapons tightly!

Their eyes were filled with exhaustion and pain, but even more so, a fearless... madness!

"Roar—!!!"

Outside the city wall was an endless, black, terrifying ocean of "outer-realm fiends"!

They crashed against the crumbling city wall, built from countless "men's" corpses!

Emitting a grating "creak"!

"Hold on! All of you, hold the line for me!"

A one-armed general, who had lost an arm, roared hoarsely!

"Behind us! Are our wives and children! Is our home! We have nowhere to retreat!"

"Kill!!!"

With a roar, he dragged his broken body and was the first to leap from the city wall!

Like a burning meteor, he plunged into the endless black demonic tide without hesitation!

"Boom!"

The brilliant light of a Golden Core self-detonation instantly tore a negligible opening in the demonic tide!

Only to be immediately... engulfed by more and more endless fiends.

"General!"

"Brothers! Follow the General! Kill!!!"

One man after another leaped from the city wall like dumplings falling into a pot!

They used their lives, their final self-detonations, to buy a negligible moment of... respite for the world behind them.

Lin Chen watched in a daze.

He wanted to act, but found that in this illusion formed by "history," he was merely a powerless... specter.

And just then.

An even more terrifying, more despair-inducing aura slowly descended from the shattered sky!

Nine demon gods, ten thousand zhang tall, of various forms but all exuding the terrifying pressure of a "Tribulation Transcending True Immortal" level, had arrived!

They merely glanced casually at the struggling Human Race below.

Then simultaneously raised their palms, large enough to obscure the sky!

About to completely wipe out this last majestic pass and everything it protected!

It's over!

Only these two words remained in everyone's hearts.

However!

At this most desperate moment!

"Vile beasts! How dare you!"

An emperor's roar, filled with supreme divine might, resounded through heaven and earth!

A majestic figure, clad in imperial robes, wearing an emperor's crown, and holding a golden divine seal, soared into the sky from the highest point of the majestic pass!

He was the last Human Emperor of the Human Race!

He fought against the nine great demon gods alone!

Shaking the heavens and earth! Dimming the sun and moon!

But he was ultimately at the end of his rope.

When he used his last ounce of strength to completely blast the ninth demon god into dust.

His imperial body was already covered in hideous cracks.

Divine blood stained the sky.

He looked back at the majestic pass, already riddled with scars.

He knew.

Although humanity had won a tragic victory in this purely "physical war."

The true "conspiracy" of those outer-realm fiends had only just begun.

He looked up at the huge spatial rift that was still slowly wriggling.

On the other side of the rift, a Demon Empress, even more terrifying and majestic than the previous nine demon gods, filled with "wisdom" and "malice," was quietly gazing at this world.

She smiled.

Her laughter made no sound.

Yet it transformed into two of the most vicious and bizarre forms of mental pollution!

Instantly spreading throughout the Heavenly Dao laws of the entire Tianyan Continent!

The first layer: The Curse of Thought!

"Pitiful males..."

"You won the war."

"But you will lose the entire... future."

"From this day forth!"

"I, in the name of the Chaos Fiends, hereby curse—"

"—Curse that all 'love' in this world shall be tied to 'profit'!

"—Curse that all 'marriages' shall become a clearly priced... 'transaction'!

"—Curse that all 'procreation' shall bear an unbearable... 'price'!

The second layer: The Curse of Bloodline!

"And I shall further curse—"

"All bloodlines containing the origin of 'Yang' shall be 'suppressed' by the Heavenly Dao laws!"

"The chances of male infants being born will be less than one in ten!"

"The path of cultivation for males will be fraught with thorns! Achieving half the results with twice the effort!"

"While all bloodlines containing the origin of 'Yin' shall receive the 'blessing' of the Heavenly Dao laws!"

"Female infants will more easily awaken spirit roots! More easily comprehend heaven and earth!"

"They will completely replace you and become the new masters of this world!"

"I want to make your ridiculous civilization, filled with 'masculine' energy..."

"—Completely 'self-castrate' from its roots!"

"—Completely 'self-annihilate' from its legacy!"